[Senate Hearing 107-498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 107-498
INDIAN TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT CONSOLIDATION FUNDING ACT
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
S. 343
TO ESTABLISH A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO AUTHORIZE THE INTEGRATION AND
COORDINATION OF FEDERAL FUNDING DEDICATED TO COMMUNITY, BUSINESS, AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
__________
MAY 8, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
80-227 WASHINGTON : 2002
_____________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado, Vice Chairman
FRANK MURKOWSKI, Alaska KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, HARRY REID, Nevada
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
Patricia M. Zell, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
Paul Moorehead, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
S. 343, text of.................................................. 3
Statements:
Campbell, Hon. Ben Nighthorse, U.S. Senator from Colorado,
vice chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs................. 1
DeLaCruz, James, council member, Quinault Indian Nation...... 32
Hall, Tex, president, National Congress of American Indians.. 25
Makil, Ivan, president, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community Council.......................................... 27
McCaleb, Neal, assistant secretary, Indian Affairs,
Department of the Interior................................. 22
Spilde, Katherine A., senior research associate, Harvard
Project on American Indian Economic Development, Kennedy
School of Government....................................... 38
Appendix
Prepared statements:
DeLaCruz, James.............................................. 50
Hall, Tex.................................................... 45
Makil, Ivan.................................................. 46
McCaleb, Neal................................................ 43
Murkowski, Hon. Frank H., U.S. Senator from Alaska........... 43
Spilde, Katherine A.......................................... 48
Additional material submitted for the record:
Sovereignty and Nation-Building: The Development Challenge in
Indian Country Today: Stephen Cornell and Joseph P. Kalt
(report)................................................... 54
The Economist (articles)..................................... 87
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard
Nixon, 1970................................................ 90
INDIAN TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT CONSOLIDATION FUNDING ACT
----------
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2002
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room
485, Senate Russell Building, Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(acting chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senator Campbell.
STATEMENT OF HON. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, U.S. SENATOR FROM
COLORADO, VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
Senator Campbell. Chairman Inouye is chairing another
hearing this morning, so we'll proceed with this hearing.
Welcome to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on S.
343, the Indian Tribal Development Consolidated Funding Act of
2001, a bill that I introduced along with Chairman Inouye in
February 2001.
By now we're all too familiar with the unfortunate economic
conditions in Indian communities, a jobless rate of 45 percent,
and 80 to 90 among some of the Plains economies. The poorest
health in the United States, with tuberculosis, diabetes,
cancer almost in epidemic proportions. Substandard and crowded
housing and an education system that traps Indian youngsters in
hopelessness.
Despite some of the recent successes with Indian gaming,
natural resource development and other business opportunities,
most tribes still remain mired in Third World poverty.
There is a core group of conditions that any developing
economy needs, and these are what we have been focusing on at
the Federal level. One is solid physical infrastructure, two, a
healthy, educated work force, and three, financial capital.
There is one ingredient we can't legislate and that's tribal
leadership. And I don't just mean someone who gets elected, I
mean someone who is willing to work and make his or her tribe
attractive to both Indian entrepreneurs and outside investors,
and someone who is willing to do unpopular but necessary things
like reforming constitutions, insisting on independent
judiciaries and making sure contracts and agreements are
honored by tribes even with changes in tribal administration.
In December 2001, the GAO published a report showing that
of the billions of dollars of Federal economic development
assistance for Indian tribes and Indians, much of it goes
unused. In the 1980's, Congress launched what became the highly
successful Indian Tribal Self-Governance Act that grew out of
intense Congressional dissatisfaction with the performance of
the Indian agencies.
Congress decided that agency reforms were not going to take
place and that the only answer was to circumvent the agencies
and provide the funds directly to the tribes themselves. I
think that it is working. Generally, it's working very well. I
know we've heard from many tribes who do their own contracting.
They all seem to think that's the direction we should have been
going all along. I'm sure there's enough blame to go around, I
guess that's why I introduced S. 343.
[Text of S. 343 follows:]
Senator Campbell. We're going to try with this bill to make
some changes in the way the Federal economic development
assistance to Indian tribes is handled. S. 343 is modeled after
the Tribal Self-Governance Act and would provide economic
development funds directly to the tribes. The Indian Tribal
Development Consolidated Funding Act of 2002 authorizes a pilot
program for up to 24 Indian tribes to participate in projects
to foster community, economic and business development in their
communities.
In addition to block granting economic development funds to
tribes, this bill creates a clearinghouse of Federal Indian
programs for information that will ensure that tribes take
advantage of all Federal agency programs with little or no cost
to the Government. My intention is to work with the
Administration to produce an agreement on this bill or
something that looks similar to it in this session of Congress,
even though we don't have an awful lot of time. If we can't
reach an agreement this session, then I will re-introduce this
bill again next year.
With that, I would introduce into the record two articles,
one from the Economist and a copy of the GAO report dealing
with Indian affairs.
[Information appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. With that, we'll start with Neal McCaleb.
If you'd like to just come on up and sit down, Neal, and
Aurene, if you have something to say with this too, please come
up here and sit with him. Nice to have you here, Neal.
STATEMENT OF NEAL McCALEB, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF INDIAN
AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Mr. McCaleb. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's a
pleasure to be here.
Senator Campbell. All your written testimony will be
included in the record.
Mr. McCaleb. All right. I may just do that, rather than
read it into the record.
First of all, I want to make it clear that we're absolutely
in support of both the concept and the letter of the bill,
because it, I think, builds on some things that we've already
accomplished in this consolidation and integration of Federal
programs, due to single agency oversight to deal with Indian
interests. We've seen the success of the legislation, Public
Law 102-477, which integrated the training programs and the
education programs. That's been very successful, it's been very
enthusiastically endorsed by the tribes and this is very
similar.
We think there's a lot to be accomplished by the
integration of these different programs. Right now we have
these programs scattered across many different departments and
agencies. The tribes have to make applications individually to
these agencies. Then they have to have a report of financial
accountability. This provides a streamlining so that they can
make one application, and there's a bill that provides it
through the Department of the Interior. It's coordinated for
all different agencies. I think there's a lot of synergism and
efficiency associated with the bill.
There are some tweaks, I think, that some different
departments are giving some different information to us, the
Administration, they have some suggestions or tweaks to the
bill. I'm sure that we'll visit with the committee about that
at a later date. But the bill substantially is enthusiastically
endorsed by the Administration. And I think with that, I'll
just answer any questions.
[Prepared statement of Mr. McCaleb appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. Well, thank you. I appreciate that. It's
rare that we get a bill that's enthusiastically endorsed by
anybody. It's kind of nice. And whatever those tweaks are, if
you would have Aurene or somebody get together with the staff
and Senator Inouye's staff, we'll try and----
Mr. McCaleb. And it's mentioned in the formal testimony.
Senator Campbell. I see. Good.
Conceptually, you think that it is time to extend self-
governance to other areas like economic development, as this
bill would do?
Mr. McCaleb. Absolutely. As you indicated earlier, the
self-governance legislation that was passed early in the last
decade has been very successful, we may have 220 tribes that
are contracting or compacting for their own self-governance,
which amounts really to a block grant to tribes. That is a
concept that's available in this bill and I think it will
expand to other tribes under this bill. I think it will expand
the concept of self-governance.
Senator Campbell. In the past, whenever we have talked
about self-governance, although I think the concept is becoming
more acceptable now and a little easier to deal with with
tribes, I can remember years ago when we would talk about it,
there was always a worry that, is self-governance code for
taking away the trust responsibility that we are obligated to
provide and that tribes have a right to expect. But I don't
seem to hear that quite as much now.
Maybe I would ask you, how do we encourage tribes to expand
self-governance? One of the other things that we hear, Neal, as
you know, is that new tribes come in after we've put something
in place, and it may be in place for 1 year or more, and people
come in all the time and say, we didn't know about it. So there
seems to be a vehicle of disconnect somewhere, by the time we
put something in place, that they know they actually have
available to them.
Mr. McCaleb. Well, I think in Indian country, there's a
general awareness of the opportunity of self-governance. Many
tribes choose to continue and not be self-governance, but
contract under 638 for a variety of programs. And then some
tribes prefer to be direct service tribes, where the BIA
provides all these services. And part of self-governance is
letting tribes make their own decisions. That's happening, and
I think that's probably good.
I think there's a general awareness, you're right, though,
that initially there was a lot of reserve about self-
governance. I was privileged in 1983 to be a member of
President Reagan's Commission on Indian Reservation Economies.
One of the recommendations that we made is very similar to what
we've done in self-governance, and that is to take the money
that is ascribed to the tribes in a variety of programs and
just divert it directly, or not divert it, but transmit it
directly to the tribes in the form of a block grant. That's
essentially what self-governance is. When we made that
recommendation in that commission report, it was roundly
repudiated in Indian country.
So there is a kind of an educational process, a learning
curve, if you please. We had a surge in self-governance when it
started about in the 1995, 1996 through 1998 era, when it
picked up. It's finally leveled off, but we're continuing to
add self-governance tribes each year.
Senator Campbell. From the time you were on that commission
and you had considerable experience in Oklahoma before you came
to the Federal Government, and the time you've been in your
present position, have you noticed any correlation between
self-governance and the economic success of tribes that have
participated in self-governance?
Mr. McCaleb. Yes; I think so.
Senator Campbell. Can you say that the ones who have used
it more have raised their standard of living for their people?
Mr. McCaleb. I think so. The Harvard Project people have
made the point that one of the real seed beds of economic
growth is a stable, functioning, true self-governing tribe that
has a strong tribal government. This process of self-governance
would simply strengthen those aspects, both from the
legislative and the administrative standpoint within the tribe
that is conducive to strengthening those institutions within
the tribal government that provides stability and would provide
a good environment or a good seed bed for economic growth and
economic development.
Senator Campbell. Thank you. In fact, someone from the
Harvard Project is going to be testifying a little later. Maybe
they can inform and enlighten us a little bit more about that.
Those are the only questions I have, Neal. Did Senator
Inouye have anything he wanted me to ask?
There may be some written questions from other members of
the Committee, but we'll be looking forward to working with you
in the next few weeks, if you can, on this bill. Hopefully
we'll be able to get the thing through this year, if it meets
with the approval of the tribes.
Mr. McCaleb. I'll look forward to it, sir. Thank you for
the privilege of being here today.
Senator Campbell. Thank you very much.
Our next witness panel is Tex Hall, president of the
National Congress of American Indians; Ivan Makil, president of
the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Council; and
James DeLaCruz, council member of the Quinault Indian Nation.
We might say before we take testimony, James, I knew your
dad well, he was a wonderful friend and great Indian leader.
Like many other people in America, we were just terribly
distressed when he unfortunately passed away. I was in an
airport at the time, and had just bumped into another friend, a
mutual friend between your dad and me. He's the one that
actually told me about it. I want you to know that our hearts
really went out to your family.
Mr. DeLaCruz. I appreciate that.
Senator Campbell. And Ivan, I'm sorry I didn't see you when
you came in, or I would have come over and said hello. We've
been friends for so long.
Tex, nice to have you here. We'll start with you. I might
tell you that--did you see that thing on a web site where you
and I supposedly had some huge disagreement on a Friday in a
committee hearing here which we have never had? We don't do
committee hearings on Friday. It was not very complimentary
about me or you. We're thinking about responding to that, it
was so bad. It was fabricated.
Mr. Hall. No; I didn't bother to look at it, based on what
some of the folks had told me, that it was negative and it was
pitting us against each other, and a derogatory remark. That is
completely a fabrication.
Senator Campbell. Totally false. We've been friends ever
since we've known each other. I didn't know about it either
until I got a call from the president of the Northern Cheyenne,
where I'm enrolled. They were very upset with it. They said,
did you see this? I said no, and they said they thought they
were going to respond to that, too, because it was so bad.
Mr. Hall. I got the same call from your tribe. I think it's
important that we do. At least I will, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Campbell. Thank you. Go ahead and proceed. And to
all of you, your written testimony will be included in the
record.
STATEMENT OF TEX HALL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN
INDIANS
Mr. Hall. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the
committee. I appreciate the opportunity to present on S. 343
today.
Just a little background, we at NCAI, National Congress of
American Indians, are really supportive of the concept of this
bill. We've been working with Neil McCaleb, the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs, working on an overall economic
development focus. Matter of fact, NCAI is meeting in Bismarck
on June 16-19 and the whole conference is focused on economic
development. So this bill is a great start, we think, toward
putting some of those tracks down.
Finally, we're looking toward even a White House initiative
later on this fall. I think we even set the date, it's
September 18 through 20. So obviously we want to work with the
Committee as we move this forward. This bill is an example of
the 477 program, which of course has been very successful in
Indian country. It's like a one stop shop.
The bureaucracy, I think, in line with your comments
earlier, Mr. Chairman, about why some tribes don't, I think the
bureaucracy discourages many tribes from developing their
applications. And the one stop shop, especially if we can add
that onto the portion of the bill that talks about the waiver
of the provisions, the only thing I see now is what happens if
the Federal agency does not want to waive its provisions. We've
seen that in the bureaucracy, and some agencies are very
willing to look at waiving certain red tape and regulations and
others are not. So I think we need to have some sort of
strength in the bill that says what happens if an agency does
not want to waive.
Those were just my general points. We have submitted our
written testimony, Mr. Chairman, and just briefly in my verbal
testimony, we definitely want to support this bill, again, not
only for NCAI but for my tribe at the Fort Berthhold
Reservation in North Dakota.
At the BIA, we have a subcommittee on economic development.
This really lays the groundwork for one of our recommendations
for consolidation of Federal agencies. So we're really in line
with that.
I do have a concern on the number of applicants. The bill
says 24, Mr. Chairman. I'm wondering if we couldn't increase
that. Because one of our concepts as we're working for this
national economic effort is that the World Bank, the World Bank
has a goal in 15 years to reduce poverty by 50 percent. That's
an aggressive goal, but I think it's a very worthwhile goal. I
think it's something we should look at in Indian country and
with the United States Congress, is a similar goal to reduce
the 50 percent national unemployment in one-half by 15 years.
That would reduce us down to 25 percent. But I think we need to
even look at doubling the 24 tribes to 50.
The second point I want to raise is that the criteria for
eligibility for the demonstration project, again, there's going
to be tribes, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, in self-
governance, that are very capable. And I think we somehow have
to think of those tribes that are the have-nots, those tribes
that need the technical assistance, that probably need the
funds the most. Somehow we need to think of criteria that
doesn't eliminate those tribes. So I would strongly advocate
that we look at some language to help those tribes that don't,
I mean, the criteria doesn't exclude them, maybe is a better
way for me to put that.
Another point, a recommendation, Mr. Chairman, is that we
believe that all Federal agencies should be required to create
a catalog of programs for provisions. Right now the bill has
language that says may, and we strongly support that provision
of the bill, but I think it should require.
So that's just some technical stuff. I think again that
that would really be beneficial, to mandate the Federal
agencies to comply.
Also another recommendation is for legal reasons, if an
agency does not want to comply, is there any oversight
provision that could be provided here? Because I think it says
after one year, the President shall do a report to Congress.
That might be a little bit long. I'm just thinking of some sort
of technical amendment that would require some sort of
oversight. Again, some Federal agencies are very cooperative
and very much want to do economic development. Others are not.
So if an agency does not, and they're saying, well, for
these legal reasons, we don't want to waive any sort of
regulation provisions or the criteria, or they're just not
cooperating, I think there could be some sort of a technical
amendment or some sort of oversight that could spur them on to
comply with working with a tribe. Because as we know, in Indian
country, Mr. Chairman, and you know yourself, that if we're
working on a housing project or a lagoon project, we may have
five Federal agencies working on that single lagoon project for
housing development for a tribe, with five different
bureaucracies and five different regulations and five different
sets of funds.
Senator Campbell. Who don't talk to each other much.
Mr. Hall. And we don't talk to each other very much. So
again, the concept for this is a wonderful concept. We just
think that's it's very important that we move forward on this.
Just in line with your point about why some tribes aren't
either using self-governance or using the legislation that is
passed by Congress, you know, that's a difficult--and I was
listening to your question on it, that's a very valid question.
I think the bureaucracy sometimes affects tribes from even
wanting to apply, because they know they're going to jump
through many hoops. We just gave the example of one project, a
lagoon project, using five Federal agencies.
So I think if we can, once the bill hopefully passes and
everything, with all the amendments from Indian country, and it
goes forward, which I hope it does, we somehow, with NCAI and
with the Department of Interior, we need to really market this.
Because I think this is a wonderful opportunity. Obviously we
will do that at the NCAI conference in June and we will do that
at the summit later on in September. We will do our part to
really market this bill, so that tribes are aware.
But again, the criteria might scare some tribes. We've
really got to look at that criteria so it doesn't exclude those
tribes that need it the most. So that really does it for the
gist of our comments, Mr. Chairman. I'd be happy to answer any
questions later on.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Hall appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. I appreciate it. I might mention that I'm
not wedded to the 24, by the way, we just picked 24 because
it's 2 in each of the BIA areas. I thought that would make a
nice, round number, but it certainly could be more. As you
know, we do these things in two steps, the first one is a
concept bill like this that sets up a demonstration project,
and if we get some information back and it sounds good and if
everybody's happy with it, then we move forward with the bill
to expand it. That's probably the way this will be done, too,
if the thing works out, why then we'll try to make it bigger.
But the number 24 certainly can be changed if tribes think that
it should be.
Why don't you go ahead, Ivan.
STATEMENT OF IVAN MAKIL, PRESIDENT, SALT RIVER PIMA-MARICOPA
INDIAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Mr. Makil. Thank you, Senator Campbell, and other committee
members. I really appreciate the time and especially the
efforts in terms of this bill. It's really good to see,
refreshing to see that we're finally beginning to see some
creativity in how we draft legislation that benefits tribes.
This is really important, particular to us at Salt River.
Part of what I'm going to share with you today is just some
experiences that we've had at Salt River to sort of explain how
I think this program can be beneficial to other tribes, and had
this program been in place years ago for us, I think we would
have been much further along, as I think it will benefit other
tribes in the future.
Originally, Salt River was in an area where our ancestors
made and developed an economy out of a river, Salt River, which
the tribe was named after. But the Federal Government some time
back dammed up that river and basically cut off the life blood
of the community. We were primarily an agricultural tribe. So
the agriculture pretty much went away without water.
So that forced us to look at what alternatives we might
have. At that time, we were quite a ways out from the Phoenix
metropolitan area. Fifty years later, all of a sudden, the
metropolitan area has started growing up to our boundaries. And
as it grew up to our boundaries, it forced us to start looking
at how we start to adapt to this more contemporary society and
ways of generating revenue so that we could take care of our
people. Not only take care of our people, but provide the kinds
of housing, health care, etc., that was necessary for all
communities.
And I guess you'll see some of the slides that we have here
that will show you and emphasize some of the things we're
talking about. One of the things that we've been fortunate
about is that we have realized that the decisions we make today
are going to be really effective, affecting people in the next
generation. They don't affect us directly today, but we know
that what we do today is going to impact us. That concept of
understanding how we create communities and make decisions for
the next seven generations is really critical to all tribes. It
puts us in a position so that we make better decisions.
We're one of the, as Mr. McCaleb had mentioned, we're one
of the 220 tribes that are a self-governance tribe. But we
started in self-governance actually before self-governance
became popular. Back in the Nixon era, when President Nixon
first launched the self-determination efforts in 1970, Salt
River contracted for its first program, before Public Law 93-
638 was in effect. In 1970, we contacted for a police
department.
What that started allowing us to do was to start utilizing
the revenue and understanding how, by supplementing it with our
own resources, managing it ourselves, that we could create a
better department. Today, that experience brought us down the
road to where we contract for almost all the services. So when
we made the conversion to self-governance, it was a real simple
process.
But I guess that experience and one of those main
principles that are contained in your bill, S. 343, that
authorizes that kind of expansion of this program, really is, I
guess, sort of the next step for all tribes, especially for
those that have never had the opportunity to do self-
governance.
But it's important that the funding to the community, the
businesses and economic development is highlighted. Because it
continues to be the foundation of what we consider both a
systematic and a holistic approach. This systematic and
holistic approach is really critical, because the systematic
approach deals with functionality and efficiency. The holistic
side of this effort really is consistent with how tribes do
things anyway, how tribes think. So it gets to the cultural
base of tribes.
And it's important, as we move along and as tribes are
growing, that we continue to bring these two portions together.
Because without that, as was mentioned earlier, you have one
agency doing one thing, trying to deal with something in health
care or housing, and you have another that may be dealing with
economic development. But for instance, infrastructure, whether
it's through housing or some sort of economic development
project, ought to be coordinated. The best people to do that
are the tribes themselves.
In the 1980's, Salt River first developed a shopping
center. We were one of the first tribes to ever develop a
shopping center of our size. And part of what that did was, we
were able to do that because we had contracted for some of the
services, particularly realty. What that did was it put us in
control of that process. Public Law 93-638 gave us a process
that allowed us to change and to manage more realistically the
development process that was important.
That development process was a very cumbersome process. We
learned a lot of things over time. On the screen what you see
is an example of our lease process. The yellow is the
highlighted area of our process. I know it's difficult to see.
But it talks about all of the various due diligence, the
requirements of land issues, especially when you deal with a
lot of land issues, that we had to develop over time. This is
the process that we use today.
So you see the involvement of the BIA, which is very
minimal, those are where the trust responsibilities of the
Bureau are still maintained.
Senator Campbell. The green?
Mr. Makil. It's the green. The BIA is in the green.
On the next slide, if you compare this process, most tribes
deal with this process or a similar process, where they have to
get approval from the Bureau. You see all of the green here,
versus the decisions that they really are in a position to make
in the yellow. That is so important, and that process is so
important to creating a foundation for revenue, so important
for making decisions about what tribes can live with in terms
of growth and development. Because if we can't control growth
and development and how we grow, from health care to housing to
economic development to infrastructure, then we will never meet
the needs of our community.
Because we have taken control of those resources and been
able to establish this process, one of the things we've also
been able to do in this process is create a data base of our
land records. This sort of ties into the overall issues of how
you manage trust lands and trust funds. Because part of what
we've done in this process is because we had to have a system
that helped us to understand ownership of those lands.
This is a map of our community. With our system that we've
developed, because we had to develop it for development
purposes, we can go in and a landowner can come in and say, I
have my allotment, here's my allotment, and we can break it
down to each section. Then we can break it down even further,
so that any landowner that walks in our realty office can walk
out with a description of their land, the amount of interest
they own in their land, no mater how severely fractionated, and
we can even show them exactly where their land is on a map.
Now, we've been able to do this because we've been able to
manage these resources in a self-governance type of way. That's
something that I think you won't find hardly anywhere in the
country.
Ten years ago, the community developed what we call a
vision statement that would guide our community. What was
important in that process is that it wasn't a process of
individuals or of consultants or of even the council. It was a
product of the whole community. The idea came from the
administration and the council. But we had a series of public
hearings where we brought in tribal members and we talked about
housing, we talked about health care, we talked about
development and the future growth of our community, what did we
want to see our community look like.
Through this public hearing process, it brought in and
created ownership in this vision of our future, by the
individual members. So that it wasn't an issue of tribal lands
versus allotted lands, it was an issue where we were able to
bring all of the parties together and have some agreement in
general. Obviously, not everybody agrees. But in general, there
was a significant amount of agreement and support in this way.
This is where, by having control of those various services
and being able to manage them internally, that although there's
always a concern by the Bureau that there's a trust
responsibility and that trust responsibility goes to individual
allottees, that we've been able, because it's been important to
bring this cohesiveness of community together, that the tribal
members participate in this process.
So when we talk about, and I think Tex brought up a really
good point, we have concerns about it, too, in terms of waiving
certain regulations. Too often, tribal governments are looked
at as, well, we don't look out for the interest of the
allottees. But the allottees are our constituents. Things only
work if the allottees support what we're trying to do in terms
of tribal government.
So as long as we bring them into this process and we make
them a part of the process, and they are a part of this
process, then they have ownership in the vision of the future.
That ownership in the vision of the future is what can come
about when you can wrap your arms around all of these resources
that are available to you. All of these Federal agencies have
resources that tribes need.
From our experience, I have no doubt that the creation of
this bill was an extremely great idea. You sort of liken it to
a fund where you can leverage other opportunities and you don't
waste dollars. You get the biggest bang for your buck, so to
speak, because you don't have duplication and you can avoid
that kind of duplication.
In this process, we were fortunate because we were forced
to develop the kind of expertise internally. Our experience,
and I personally have talked to a lot of tribes around the
country about development and some of the things that we've
been doing, we've been invited several times to share not only
the things we've done in economic development but also the
things we've done with, as you saw earlier, the management
process of realty. We've been asked to share that program with
other tribes.
That was an evolutionary process. It didn't happen
overnight. It happened starting in 1970 when we contracted for
the first program. With the principles that are laid out in S.
343, what you're doing is you're giving tribes the opportunity
to start to develop that expertise. Because when they have the
opportunity to start managing those resources, they also have
to start developing the expertise. Or one of the things that we
think that maybe should be considered in this demonstration
project is, if the tribes do not have expertise, is making sure
that within the bill there's the opportunity to gain that
expertise or hire that expertise. That's really critical.
Because one of the things that we've found as we've created
enterprises, we now own and operate nine different enterprises,
everything from a sand and gravel operation to a golf course
that's one of the top 100 in the country, we own a cement plant
in northern Arizona that's not even on our land, on tribal
land, it's on land that we purchased. But all of these
opportunities came about because we hired the expertise and we
learned from that expertise.
I realize that time is running short and I'm getting a
little long here. But I guess what I mainly wanted to do is get
across the point that what we see is a great opportunity that
tribes really have never had before. Self-governance was the
first effort. Expanding it, and you know, self-governance was
really confined to whatever we had in the Bureau. It had a lot
of limitations. When you expand it, you really give the
opportunity for tribes to become self-reliant and self-
sufficient.
That's how tribes begin to re-instill and get back the
dignity that we've always had. We've always had economies
before the Federal Government was here. We still make decisions
that we think about for the future.
I thank you for the opportunity to be here to share some of
these thoughts with you today. Obviously this is a project that
I feel I have a lot of passion for, because we've seen how it
works and I can show you the experiences that we've had and the
growth that we've had and the opportunity that has been created
for us. I see this as a huge opportunity for other tribes.
If there's anything that we can do in terms of our
experience to lend to this effort, I'm perfectly comfortable in
committing myself as well as my staff to any efforts, and the
experience that we have. Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Makil appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. Thank you. That was a very fine
testimony. Between you and Tex, you make me feel good about
this bill so far. [Laughter.]
I wish I could take all the credit for writing it, but as
you know, staff does an awful lot, and have put an awful lot of
work and thought into this bill.
I'll ask you questions in a few minutes, but I want to tell
you, I think you're absolutely right when you talk about, if I
can paraphrase it, there's more than one kind of growth when
you have the growth of economic development, because you have
the growth of people's ability to control their own future. We
sometimes hear, well, you know, we can't very well set up that
program, because we don't have the expertise to run it. But it
seems to me they can go hand in hand. People grow at the same
rate, maybe, or sometimes even faster than the business grows.
If they're ever going to learn how to do it, then there's got
to be some interconnection between the growth of the business
and the growth of the skills to run it, too.
You have certainly got over one hurdle. I was reminiscing,
when you told me about the terrific inclusion you have in your
tribe when you make decisions, I had a frustrated person one
time, I was visiting a tribe and a fellow came out of a tribal
council meeting, he was growling around and I asked him what
was wrong, and he said, my gosh, you get two Indians in this
tribe together, you can have three fights. [Laughter.]
You've gotten over that hurdle pretty well with your tribe,
I think, Ivan. It sounds like you have a model that tribes
could use.
James, if you'd like to proceed, please.
STATEMENT OF JAMES DeLaCRUZ, COUNCIL MEMBER, QUINAULT INDIAN
NATION
Mr. DeLaCruz. Good morning, distinguished members of this
committee and Mr. Chairman.
If I could just add a personal note, thank you for your
comments. Joe was my older brother, and we lost him on his way
to a self-governance conference. I often wonder how he would
look upon things today as they are. Maybe we can hear him
rumbling in the background from time to time and think about
what his positions would be in self-governance. I'll carry your
message to our family and to the Quinault Indian Nation, and we
appreciate that. Thank you.
My name is James DeLaCruz. I'm a councilman with the
Quinault Indian Nation. I'm honored to provide testimony on S.
343, the Indian Tribal Development Consolidated Funding Act of
2001. I am here today representing the six tribe self-
governance consortium which administers the self-governance
communication and education project. The members of this
consortium include six of the original 10 tribes that
participated in the self-governance demonstration project in
1989, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, the Jamestown
S'Klallam Tribe, the Lummi Indian Nation, the Hoopa Valley
Tribe, the Sac and Fox Nation, and the Quinault Indian Nation.
Prior to self-governance, we as tribes could not easily
function as the primary service provider on our reservation.
That function had been assumed by Federal bureaucracies. The
simple concept that sovereign tribal control at local level
works better than Federal control hundreds and thousands of
miles away is a hallmark of self-governance. In 1975, Nixon
reformed policy of tribal self-determination allowed tribes to
contract and reform Federal services. This was quickly limited
with oppressive regulations and Federal contract oversight.
Self-governance brought about many changes: Contract
reform, the elimination of excessive regulations, the
consolidation of funding and programs, the elimination of
unnecessary supervision and the adherence to government-to-
government relations. Consistent with the tribally driven self-
governance initiative, tribes must take the leadership in
structuring how the Federal Government carries out its trust
responsibilities to Indian tribes. Economic self-sufficiency
remains an unattained goal for most tribes.
S. 343 focuses on one of the aspects of our problems in
this arena, which is how to navigate through the available
Federal resources and then to determine how to best utilize
these resources. S. 343 uses the demonstration model of self-
governance. S. 343 recognizes and builds on the premise that we
are sovereign governing nations.
This legislation allows tribes the opportunity to engage in
a demonstration project and negotiate with Federal agencies to
determine how best to make Federal programs a successful effort
toward achieving economic self-sufficiency. This allows for a
controlled experiment of inter-departmental cooperation and
program consolidation without trying to set all the elements in
advance. It allows tribes and the departments to negotiate. It
allows tribes knowledgeable of the needs and resources that it
has, to design an Indian program for economic development, it
allows tribes to search among the menu of the various Federal
programs as well as State programs where the State agrees to
cooperate, to put together program elements and funds to
support the programs designed by that tribe.
In addition, it seeks to provide mechanisms of inter-agency
administration, regulation, consolidation and one-stop
shopping. S. 343 will serve to streamline economic development
funds that tribes can access whether an individual tribe or a
consortium. We recommend that tribes who seek to participate in
this demonstration project develop tribal business codes. All
too often, tribes enter into negotiations to allow outside
vendors to bring their businesses to reservations, yet they are
unaware of the need to have a tool in place such as the tribal
business code to educate the outside parties about the Indian
culture. All economies that we bring to our land must reflect
our traditions and customs, which are the very nucleus of our
existence.
Just as the reemergence of tribal goverments again
operating our own programs and administering services to our
own people has occurred, we can break the cycle of
institutional dependency and begin to seek ways to develop
sustainable reservation economies for our people. To authorize
24 tribes to enter into a demonstration project, to access
economic development funds from all Federal departments is a
very positive step and we applaud your efforts.
Legislation such as the Indian Tribal Development
Consolidation Funding Act of 2001 is a very good step. Thank
you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. DeLaCruz appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. Thank you. I appreciate the testimony of
all three of you. All three of you are well-known tribal
leaders in your own area. And I was reflecting on your
testimony, James, in particular. We find ourselves, I guess, in
Indian country now at kind of a cross-roads that some people
are having a little problem dealing with. Because traditional
Indian people are not materialistic. That's what the potlatch
and the giveaways are all about, to show disdain for
materialism, to show that they're not tied to earthly goods,
that they have a higher calling. Yet at the same time,
everybody knows you've got to have some material things if
you're going to have better schools for your youngsters or
hospitals for your people or nutrition for people that need it.
You've got to have that.
But it's been my experience, at least with the vast
majority of tribes that I've visited with and know, that the
tribal leaders have found a way to balance one with the other.
In fact, I don't know very many tribes that would elect
somebody to tribal leadership that has just forgotten the old
traditional ways in lieu of just making more money or building
more buildings or something of that nature. Even the big casino
tribes, they've tried to keep, in my view, have tried to keep a
really close interaction between tribal beliefs and the ability
to move ahead in the 21st century in terms of marketing.
You also reminded me that many times in the past, the
Indian thought at least in some areas was the way we create
economic development is that we get a Federal grant, and with
that Federal grant we provide jobs for our people. Somehow
that's called ``economic development.''
You know as well as I do, coming from very modern dynamic
tribes, that's not the way it works on the outside. The way it
works is you create a product or you create a service and you
market that, and the profits from that then expand the job
base. I think Indian tribes are really learning that there's a
big difference between just creating jobs from a Federal grant
which has to be renewed every couple of years or your economy
falls apart, and doing something where you have created a
service or a product.
But I know all three of your tribes have done very well.
But also I know in the process it's been kind of a step by step
thing, you know, little by little.
Let me ask you first, James, the time when you began, you
mentioned something about tribal business plans, tribal
business codes, I guess you called it. Who wrote that for you?
Did you use somebody else's model for that, or did you just try
to figure it out yourself, what is the best thing to have in a
business code?
Mr. DeLaCruz. The Quinault Tribe does have business codes
and practices.
Senator Campbell. Where did those originate? Did you just
do them yourself or was there a model somewhere that you used
from other tribes, or did the Bureau or somebody else at
Federal agencies help you with it?
Mr. DeLaCruz. I don't really have an answer to that. I know
that we rely on our staff and we go through a committee
process, develop them with a public hearing process.
Senator Campbell. Maybe I could ask all three of you. There
have been obstacles over a period of time, as this growth has
gone and tribes are recognizing more and more that they can
expand self-governance. Maybe you can answer this, Tex. What
were the biggest obstacles you faced when you first started
talking about expanding self-governance programs? Did you get
those from the Federal Government? Was that where the biggest
obstacles were, what they call ``white-tape'' sometimes?
[Laughter.]
Mr. Hall. So noted. I think your point is right on. I think
it is the bureaucracy that hinders the development. In some
instances, there's no regulations of time lines. It can take so
long to get a business lease done. And we don't have the
staffing or perhaps the expertise in some areas of leasing, for
example. And there's no real time line that's business
friendly.
Obviously we can't sit for 1 year or 2 years or 3 years or
4 years waiting for approval of a business lease. Economic
development is just not going to happen.
But in response to your point, Senator Campbell, I think we
should look at a recommendation for a provision to, as
President Makil and Mr. DeLaCruz were talking about their
tribes, some sort of a tribal peer learning process. This is a
demonstration project. And after 1 year or 2 years, there will
be hopefully some successful tribes. There should be a
provision that they have to help, maybe not have to, but they
should be strongly encouraged to assist other tribes. Because
really, tribes that need it most are really going to benefit
from this.
But I'm just really cautious and concerned that sometimes
those tribes that are successful are the ones that will be
there. And those tribes that need it the most maybe are not
going to qualify. And maybe after the demonstration project,
those tribes that President Makil just showed a big slide on,
on the development and leasing and how he streamlined his
process, if he was able to assist other tribes that are waiting
to become a demonstration project tribe, I think that provision
in here would really add to the legislation. I think it's
really important.
Senator Campbell. If tribes themselves don't, I wonder if
we couldn't do that at the Federal level, take things that have
made them successful and put something in place where we have a
mentoring process, through legislation or through the agencies,
where they can provide a road map of what was successful,
what's needed to become a successful tribe. I know they're not
all different, and I was thinking, Ivan's tribe is near a very
large, metropolitan area, yours is much farther out, a little
difficult to get to, the work force, transportation of goods,
all that kind of thing is a little more difficult. I don't
think we should transfer any wealth yet from Ivan's tribe.
[Laughter.]
But I know that there are different circumstances. But
there's got to be some kind of a vehicle where some can learn
from the experiences of others.
Mr. Hall. I think it will be a cost savings, Mr. Chairman.
Because we know there's certain instances where a tribe that
maybe doesn't have the administrative capability will not be
successful if that technical assistance or the tribal peer
learning process is not provided. This would save money in the
long run, I think, if we could add some provision of this type.
Senator Campbell. No question about it.
Ivan, does your tribe get water from the Central Arizona
project which was completed a few years ago?
Mr. Makil. Yes, it does.
Senator Campbell. Is that factored into your economic
development at Salt River?
Mr. Makil. It sure is, and I'm glad you mentioned that.
Because sort of relating to all this is, tribes naturally,
because culturally that's how we think, look at the scope of
things as the total picture. And water is just as critical as
being able to get a loan to build a building or to do business.
That's where Federal agencies, Federal agencies don't have the
scope of vision that tribes do. Federal agencies have a
tendency to deal with their issue. So they have blinders on
because they're so focused on their issue.
The blinders focus only on that one issue. Well, what the
tribes have to do is we have to look at all of these different
agencies and see what we can get the best and get the help. And
it's difficult if you have duplication with agencies because
they aren't talking to each other. What's really important and
what has been helpful to our success is that when you start to
get these Federal agencies, or when we can manage these things
ourselves, and give ourselves the flexibility and enough time,
and that's what this project needs to be able to do, it needs
to have flexibility.
You also need to be able to give time to have successes.
You also can't do it without--I think what you need to have is
almost a multi-year kind of thing. Because you're not going to
do it in 1 year, in one project. You need to be able to show
results.
And I think you also need to have some sort of priority
funding. That priority funding.
Senator Campbell. This bill is a 3-year demonstration
project. Do you think that ought to be lengthened, or does
three give us enough time?
Mr. Makil. I think it gives you a good start. It's going to
depend on where a tribe is in terms of--see, the tribes look at
how they create a program for the entire community. One of the
things we've been able to do, and I think that a lot of tribes
are doing now, there's an understanding that whatever
development they do, whether it's in New Town, ND or in Salt
River, is that there's--we look at it this way. When we do a
development, whether it's for business purposes or it's for
agricultural purposes or it's for residential purposes, we know
that there's a physical impact in the community.
Usually the reason that we're changing something is because
of an economic impact. So we have a physical impact, we have an
economic impact. With that economic impact comes a social
impact. Because now, socially what you have is, you have more
jobs, you have revenue, you're starting to create that economy.
So there's a social impact. So now you have a physical, you
have an economic and you have a social impact.
What Federal agencies don't understand, but what tribes do
understand very well, is that there's a fourth component.
That's a spiritual impact. We have to be able to live with
whatever we create, whether it's business development or
residential development. Or it's the use of water. We need to
make sure that how we use water for the next at least seven
generations is figured into this equation. So tribes think of
things in that way.
When you get all of these agencies together and you create
the opportunity for tribes to actually create a plan for the
growth and the development and the future of that community,
dealing with the physical impacts, the economic impacts, the
social impacts and the spiritual impacts, you obviously want
all those impacts to be positive impacts, not negative impacts.
The way you do that is when you have control of those resources
and you can manage them to meet your specific situation.
Senator Campbell. Thank you. Maybe one last question, Ivan.
You mentioned your tribe just developed a shopping center, did
I hear that in your testimony? Was the financing done through
private banks?
Mr. Makil. Yes.
Senator Campbell. Did you have any problem getting the
capital you needed to develop that?
Mr. Makil. Yes. [Laughter.]
Senator Campbell. What were the main roadblocks to getting
the money?
Mr. Makil. Well, roadblocks were many. Obviously it's the
perception that----
Senator Campbell. Worried about unstable government and all
that we've heard over and over?
Mr. Makil. Exactly, stability in government.
Senator Campbell. How long did it take you to finally get
through the process and get the money?
Mr. Makil. I think the process was at least 6 years in the
making. We opened that shopping center in 1988. But that
process was started like in the early 1980's.
Senator Campbell. And it has been successful, with the
growth of that town, Scottsdale, growing all around you. Have
you found at all that the success you had with that shopping
center has made it easier for you when you want to borrow money
for other things, other developments?
Mr. Makil. Yes; it has established a track record, and the
one thing that we also did was, we had Federal legislation that
dealt with arbitration issues. Those kinds of things were
really important to bankers, so there was an assurance they
could collect their money if there was a default. Those kinds
of things that tribes have to get through.
We have established a track record. We just did a
renovation of our cement plant that was about a $118-million
renovation. General Electric Credit Corporation was the company
that funded that loan. When we talked with General Electric
Credit Corporation, what we found was that this was the first
loan they had ever made to an Indian tribe on an Indian
reservation. Now that they found out it could be done, there
was an interest in seeing what other projects they could begin
to do.
But it takes that kind of experience in Indian country with
businesses, with finance companies, before we have any
credibility with them.
Senator Campbell. Well, this bill is the demonstration
project bill, and as I mentioned a little while ago, it's in
two parts. We're going to try to get this thing through and if
it works good, we'll try to expand it and make it permanent.
We've had some experience in the past where we tried to help
tribes with demonstration projects that did work good, but we
couldn't get an extended bill through, or we haven't yet.
I'm thinking in terms of the bill we passed a few years ago
that allowed tribes to self-insure, so that if there was some
kind of a default, you mentioned that, Ivan, if there was a
default, the investors wouldn't lose their money. I thought it
worked great, and all we heard was that it was working good for
the tribes that were in that demonstration project. But we
haven't been able to get a permanent bill through yet to expand
that. So hopefully we will.
Well, thank you very much for your testimony. Any
additional comments, please send them in or call them in.
We will now hear from Katherine Spilde, Senior Research
Associate with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic
Development at Cambridge, MA. Katherine, please proceed. Your
complete written testimony will be included in the record.
STATEMENT OF KATHERINE A. SPILDE, SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE,
HARVARD PROJECT ON AMERICAN INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT
Ms. Spilde. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for the
opportunity to appear here today. I'm Katherine Spilde, and I'm
a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Project for American
Indian Economic Development, which is housed in the Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard.
The primary research objective of the Harvard Project is to
understand the conditions under which sustained and self-
determined social and economic development is achieved among
American Indian nations. I'm here today to speak in support of
the Indian Tribal Development Consolidated Funding Act of 2001.
Basically I'm going to be testifying from my position as a
researcher for the Harvard Project, which has produced numerous
research studies regarding institutional and economic
development in Indian country.
My testimony today relies upon the research we have done at
the Harvard Project, specifically applied here to analyze and
recommend ways to facilitate the successful implementation of
the goals and purposes of this important legislation. Just by
way of background, I know that other folks from the Harvard
Project have testified before the committee before, but to
reiterate, the research evidence is clear on the overall
direction of productive Federal-tribal relations. That is that
self-determination is the only Federal policy in a century that
has created conditions where American Indian tribal governments
have been able to begin to reverse the legacy of poverty and
economic suppression to which they have historically been
subjected.
For many Indian nations, and of course not all, economic
development activities are now flourishing, often for the first
time in a century. Most importantly, improvement in economic
conditions in Indian country has been accompanied by improved
social conditions. So consistent, then, with self-determination
policies and the government-to-government relationship between
Federal agencies and tribal governments, this legislation
appropriately encourages and promotes coordination between
Federal agencies and American Indian communities. S. 343 builds
upon the principles of the Indian Employment Training and
Related Services Act, also known as the 477 Program, which of
course is considered one of the most successful economic
development programs administered by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
As with the 477 program, S. 343 encourages the integration
of funding across the Federal agencies for the benefit of
tribal governments. The research at the Harvard Project
supports the partnering of Federal agencies and tribal
government with the purpose of a coordinated tribal economic
development strategy. It would allow tribal governments to
determine what their economic development priorities are and
then how best to meet those needs.
Again, this is consistent with the findings at the Harvard
Project, and also with the success of tribal self-governance,
which illustrates that when tribes themselves have the
opportunity for self-rule, there are much better chances for
economic stability and then the accompanying social health.
Successful implementation of S. 343 has great potential.
However, as the GAO report recently noted, tribes do face
certain practical hurdles with regard to access to the benefits
of some Federal funding programs. For example, the GAO report
and some of the Harvard Project's own research found that many
tribes often do not have the human capital needed to handle the
administrative and paperwork requirements of Federal economic
development programs. Consequently, they may either avoid using
the program where the requirements seem onerous, or they may
spend a large amount of the Federal funds that they do have
fulfilling those requirement and leaving less for the actual
implementation of the program.
So I have listed a few things to consider in terms of the
successful implementation of S. 343, both reflecting on Harvard
research and on the GAO report. A couple of these have already
been mentioned, both by the Assistant Secretary and some of the
tribal leaders. But I am basically interested in looking at the
structure for Federal agencies having incentives and clear
mandates with regard to implementing this legislation.
Also looking at the selection criteria in terms of having
tribes demonstrate fiscal responsibility, which we would argue
at least from the perspective of Harvard research, overlooks
the research evidence about institutional capacity of tribes as
a primary indicator of long term economic development
stability.
So in conclusion, successful implementation of S. 343 has
great potential to strengthen tribal self-determination and
reintroduce viable and sustainable economies in certain tribal
communities. S. 343 would maximize tribal participation in
Federal programs to foster community economic and business
development for Indian communities.
Certainly I think Harvard Project research strongly
supports the concepts contained in S. 343, so thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for the opportunity to provide testimony. Certainly I
summarized my remarks, and if you have questions, I will be
happy to answer them.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Spilde appears in appendix.]
Senator Campbell. Thank you.
Well, I haven't read that GAO report, frankly. Paul has, I
haven't. But I think in some cases it sells the tribes short a
little bit, because it's based on documentation that's kind of
clinical and found here in Washington. I don't know if they
really took into consideration the huge success stories we've
had in some places where the training went along with the
development.
I'm thinking in terms of a lot of casinos who did not have
any management experience in managing a casino. But they got an
investor and when they signed the agreements, many of the
tribes, what they did, they also signed an agreement for
training their own people. The first people that came in to
manage the casinos were not Indian. They were from Reno or Las
Vegas or wherever the money came from. They hired expertise.
But written into the agreement was that within 3 years or 4
years or so on, a certain number of the management people would
be tribal members. So it's a bootstrap thing and a step by step
thing. Many of those casinos now are totally managed by tribal
members, as you probably know. So I'm still skeptical sometimes
when anyone says ``Indians don't have the skills to be able to
do this.'' Because you've got to start somewhere, holy smoke.
I guess certainly there have been some mistakes made in the
past, and I've seen some of the derelict buildings out on
Indian reservations that were built by outside investors and it
didn't work out and they lost a building. But those war stories
or horror stories, I guess I should use a better word, are a
lot fewer, in my way of thinking, than the success stories.
Let me ask a couple of things. In all the experience you've
had with the Harvard group, have you found that there is a
correlation between commitments to government sovereignty,
transparency, individual rights, strong tribal leadership and
so on, and the economic development that benefits all the
tribal members?
Ms. Spilde. Absolutely.
Senator Campbell. That sounds like a loaded question,
because I would assume there ought to be. But you firmly
believe that?
Ms. Spilde. I know that the two founders and directors of
the Harvard Project, Joe Kalt and Steve Cornell, have been
doing research on that particular question, the relationship
between governmental institutions and economic development.
They've been investigating that for about 15 years. Their
research consistently finds that there is a direct relationship
between such attributes as separation of powers, checks and
balances, the independence of dispute resolution mechanisms,
and other capable self-governance institutions with economic
development. There is a clear and direct relationship.
Senator Campbell. Do you have any research that would show
the difference between how we have done it in the past with 12
individual agencies spending money independent of each other
and somewhat disjointed and not much communication between them
and any research that says if we do have something in place
like S. 343, that there is a better use of money or a more
efficient use of it, or better opportunities for the tribes and
a less disjointed approach?
Ms. Spilde. I think the general findings of the Harvard
project indicate that coordinated efforts, and streamlined
funding services produce less of a burden on tribes, both
fiscally and administratively. Certainly the research would
support that.
I don't know of any specific research that has asked that
particular question, but I can definitely look into it. I
haven't personally conducted any.
Senator Campbell. I would appreciate it if you would, to
notify the committee. It hasn't been done very long, so I guess
there's not very much information available.
Also, do you know, in your own mind, about any particular
incentives that we can offer Federal agencies to work with the
tribal governments to implement this particular demonstration
project? How do you suggest that we put this in place? If we
put this in place in the law, how should the Federal agencies
proceed to bridge that communication gap and that distrust gap
and all the other things we've had in the past, the fear of
decreased trust responsibility and so on?
Ms. Spilde. I know the Assistant Secretary spoke to this
issue as well, in terms of a memorandum of agreement, where the
Department of the Interior would take the lead. I certainly
would support that. I know in terms of, from a research
perspective, there's a saying, measure it and you'll get it. In
other words, having Federal agencies be accountable or report
back in terms of what their efforts have been rather than--
simply having a program which often isn't enough.
Agencies would have to report back on how they are
promoting, cooperating, educating tribes. As NCIA president,
Tex Hall pointed out, cataloging and making available to tribes
the available programs. As I said, measure it and you'll get
it. If you have some sort of reporting mechanisms for the
agencies, that might also be an incentive.
Senator Campbell. Thank you. The last isn't a question, but
a request. If you would help work with our staff on any
recommendations in the weeks ahead as we try to refine this
bill a little bit, if you could help us with that. Frankly, I
guess I've sat through 20 committee hearings or more that the
Harvard Group has been involved in, the Harvard Project. I've
frankly never heard any testimony yet that I really disagreed
with or didn't find very enlightening or educational or
supportive. So if you could help us with this, I'd certainly
appreciate it.
Ms. Spilde. I'd be happy to. Thank you.
Senator Campbell. And with that, we'll keep the record open
for 2 weeks for any additional comments. And thank all the
witnesses for being here today. This committee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:15 a.m, the committee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
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A P P E N D I X
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Additional Material Submitted for the Record
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Prepared Statement of Hon. Frank H. Murkowski, U.S. Senator from Alaska
I would like to thank the Chairman and Vice Chairman for their
tireless effort to promote the general welfare of this country's
indigenous people. I look forward to reviewing the testimony from this
hearing, and I want to thank them for participating today.
As each of us here knows, we need to find ways that we can cut
Government redtape, improve coordination and eliminate wasteful
duplication of the many programs that are designed to help Indians and
Alaska Natives. We have a duty to serve our native people, but we also
have a duty to protect the interests of all taxpayers. Wasted money
serves no one.
Many Alaska Native entities are so small they simply lack the
administrative personnel needed to complete and manage all of the
complex regulations, the web of paperwork and other requirements in
order to participate in many Federal programs. Even those native
organizations that do have the administrative capacity needed to
participate shouldn't have to waste valuable time and resources on
needless bureaucracy.
It seems to me that a proposal such as. this could actually save
money by allowing agencies to delegate management authority to other
agencies better equipped to manage certain programs. I hope this is the
case. I welcome further consideration of the bill, and I remain
committed to making government more responsible and efficient.
Again, I would like to commend Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman
Campbell for your leadership and attention to these important issues. I
certainly hope the intent of this legislation can be realized, and that
we can streamline and simplify the process of assisting Alaska Natives
and American Indians.
______
Prepared Statement of Neal A. McCaleb Assistant Secretary--Indian
Affairs Department of the Interior
Good Morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Thank you
for the opportunity to appear before you today to present the views of
the Department regarding S. 343, a bill to establish a demonstration
project to authorize the integration and coordination of Federal
funding dedicated to community, business and economic development of
Native American communities.
The Administration supports the goals of S. 343 to integrate and
coordinate Federal funding dedicated to promoting economic development
for Indian communities. The Administration, however, is still reviewing
the legislation and has already identified a number of significant
concerns with the bill, which we look forward to working with the
committee to address.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is working with the Bureau of Indian
Affairs' Tribal Budget Advisory Committee's Subcommittee on Economic
Development to develop strategies to improve reservation economies.
These strategies include actions the BIA and Federal agencies can take
to be more effective in encouraging economic development for American
Indian tribes. Integrating Federal economic development programs is one
the Tribal Advisory Committee's priorities.
S. 343 is intended to encourage more efficient use of Federal funds
in the area of economic development. Once a tribe submits a plan which
is approved by the Department, it is able to pool Federal funds they
receive for economic and community development. These funds are
disbursed to the tribe from one office and they submit one annual audit
and report to the same office regarding its expenditures. This allows
the tribe to be more flexible in its use of the funds, and more
efficient because it reduces the amount paperwork, without reducing
accountability.
S. 343 is based on an existing program authorized under Public Law
102-477, and which has enjoyed tremendous success. Public Law 102-477
allows tribes to consolidate and integrate employment education and
training programs. The program indicates that 89 percent of Indian
participants in the program have reached their education and employment
goals.
Based on our experiences with Public Law 102-477, the integration
of Federal programs initiative, we offer the following comments
regarding S. 343:
No. 1. Part of the success of our current program hinges on our
ability to act as the lead agency. The administrative burden, and
costs, are increased if tribes must go to every Federal agency
independently. The process should be streamlined, allowing all tribal
grant applications to be funneled through one agency. However, the bill
must be revised to ensure that individual programs will be included in
demonstrations only with the concurrence of the head of the Federal
agency responsible for administration of those programs. The bill
should be structured so as to allow the Secretary to enter into a
memorandum of agreement with any other agency that provides assistance
to tribes, as defined by the bill, as to which programs will be
included in the demonstration project. Both the Secretary and the
involved agencies should be required to consult with tribes prior to
finalizing any MOA. Tribes would then come to Interior and request
inclusion of any of those programs in their overall consolidated grant.
This would lead to more effective coordination and would reduce burdens
on and confusion for tribes. Section 4 of the bill should clarify that
tribes seek approval/disapproval, and implementation and related tasks,
through the Department, rather than requiring tribes to work with each
agency separately.
No. 2. We recommend that any project evaluations be coordinated
rather than each Federal agency conducting separate reviews. Tribes are
often overwhelmed by numerous duplicative review and analysis of
project operations. One coordinated consolidated review will reduce
burdens on the tribes.
No. 3. We recommend that competitive economic development grant
programs be implemented similar to formula funded grants for this
project once an award has been made under this grant.
No. 4. It has been our experience that consultation by an agency
before implementation of the Public Law 102-477 program has minimized
problems in implementation of the program. Accordingly, we believe it
is important that all agencies conduct consultation prior to taking
final agency action in regard to the provisions of this act.
No. 5. The Administration is also concerned that the scope of the
waiver provisions in section 6(c) of the bill is overly broad, and
could have adverse consequences on the environment, civil rights, and
other areas of important Federal policy. The provision provides for the
waiver of any Federal statutory provisions, regulations, policies, or
procedures that the applicant believes need to be waived in order to
implement the project. A number of Departments and agencies within the
Administration have raised serious concerns with the breadth of this
section and its mandatory requirements.
The Administration looks forward to working with the Committee on
this important legislation. We also note that other Departments and
agencies are still reviewing this legislation and may submit views to
the Committee. For example, the Department of Justice has raised a
constitutional concern with section 15 of the bill; the Department of
Treasury would like section 11(a) to make clear that funds remain in
the General Treasury until they are disbursed to Tribal Organizations;
and the Office of Management and Budget is concerned section 6 may
conflict with Public Law 106-107, the Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act of 1999.
This concludes my prepared testimony. I would be happy to answer
any questions the committee may have.
______
Prepared Statement of Tex G. Hall, President, National Congress of
American Indians
Chairman Inouye, Vice Chairman Campbell, and other members of the
committee, I would like to thank you for inviting me here to testify on
this important and significant piece of legislation, the Indian Tribal
Development Consolidated Funding Act. As you know, the National
Congress of American Indians--the oldest, largest, and most
representative Native American group in the Nation--is focused on
economic development and helping tribes get the tools necessary to
exercise their sovereignty. We believe that this bill is a step in the
right direction to help tribes along the way to building successful
economies and healthy communities.
The aim of this bill is to give the tribes the ability to coalesce
the programs from the various agencies they use to pursue development.
In doing this, tribes increase the value of the assistance they receive
because they are able to pool together resources that would otherwise
make a smaller contribution to the tribes' initiatives. For instance,
if a tribe were trying to put together a housing project, it would
often apply for many different grants and technical assistance programs
to help further the project. However, each grant and Government program
used has its own set of application, implementation,and reporting
requirements. These requirements, even though they all go to the same
project, must be fulfilled separately. This often creates an undue
hardship on those project managers who would be able to use the time
they take to fulfill Government requirements more effectively in
implementing the goals of the project. The Indian Tribal Development
Consolidated Funding Act would assist tribes in cutting administrative
tasks and costs, putting them more directly about the job of building
sustainable tribal economies.
This bill also focuses on one of the problems that tribes find when
they attempt to move forward with their programs: The lack of
cooperation between Federal agencies. Earlier this week there was a man
in our offices meeting with some agency folks about wind energy. He
said that coming to Washington was the hardest part of his job. When I
asked him why, he replied that he has to make the 3,000-mile trip twice
a year to, ``introduce people who work across the street from each
other.'' Unfortunately, this is too often the case, even out in Indian
country. When tribes try to move forward with a project that will help
their people, we waste a lot of time with duplicative Federal
requirements, and the agencies are often unwilling to cooperate with
each other because they need all their regulations fulfilled,
independent of the other agencies and independent of the best interests
of the tribes. There are so many hoops to jump through in Indian
country; we're running out of hoop dancers to hire for our project
managers.
This bill aims to remedy some of these problems. According to the
legislation, instead of reporting to each agency separately, the tribe
would be able to identify the programs and assistance that they planned
to use, propose waivers of regulations and other requirement so that a
unified application and report would fulfill the agencies I needs,and
single out one agency to administer the tribe-specific program. This
not only alleviates the reporting requirements on the tribe, but
streamlines the process for the Federal representatives as well.
In addition to lessening the burden on the agencies and the tribes,
this legislation should increase the use of Federal programs that go
largely unused. According the GAO report on Indian Economic Development
programs, only about one-half of the survey participants used any of
the 100 assistance programs. Some of the reasons that these programs
lay fallow are because of the administrative costs to the tribe
associated with the preparation and execution of the project and its
application and low levels of funding. This bill will mitigate some of
those circumstances by allowing the tribes to merge efforts to comply
with multiple programs. Moreover--and this is an important incentive
for our brothers and sisters in the government--this bill presents the
agencies with an opportunity to comply with standing executive orders
and agency plans that call for interagency cooperation with regard to
Indian Economic Development. This bill is truly an example that this
program will make the whole of the Federal assistance tribes receive
greater than the sum of its parts.
We are happy to see this bill, as it is a familiar concept to many
of us in Indian country. This bill looks like an expansion of a
consolidated funding program that came from this committee in the 102d
Congress and that is very popular in Indian country: The 477 process.
Though the 477 process is limited to four Federal agencies and programs
related to employment and training, it has proven to be a good way for
tribes to streamline the application and reporting processes involved
in Federal programs. The basic premise and process of S. 343 is working
currently, and we hope that this process can expand efficiently and
easily into the rest of the Government agencies.
However, this is a hope tinged with some caution. We feel that this
committee, in this legislation must make it very clear that the
agencies are to be willing to waive certain provisions when those are
in the best interests of the tribe and covered elsewhere in the program
functions. We know that it is not the intent of this committee to
subject the tribes to interagency bickering or territorialism, which we
fear may happen. As I said earlier, there is not a lot of cooperation
between the agencies. Though provisions in subsection (c)(6) lay out
the process in general, we don't want to see projects stalled when
agencies refuse to waive provisions or requirements. Agencies function
according to their interpretation of Congressional intent, and we urge
you to make your intent clear that agencies are to waive provisions
that tribes identify through the application or consultation process,
excepting the limitations you have described. We think that this
clarification and emphasis will make the process easier as applications
move forward.
We understand that this bill creates a demonstration project, and
thus is not designed for a large-scale implementation. We think that
the bill is good, and will be significantly useful to the tribes who
already have some manner of expertise in government program
administration and have the adequate infrastructure and resources to
perform the accounting, audit, and application processes. However, many
tribes do not yet have these resources. As the program moves forward,
NCAI would like to see provisions that would provide some assistance
for those tribes, especially in the form of peer learning processes.
Our experience shows us that tribes learn best from other tribes who
have already gone through the processes. When we are able to visit
other tribes, who were often facing the same situations we are, and see
what and how they have accomplished specific tasks, it helps us put a
perspective on how our tribes should move forward. We think that after
the first year or two of the project, those tribes who have
participated will have the expertise to assist other tribes in the
program. This peer-learning process requires nominal funding, and the
outcomes of empowering tribes as examples, as well as the monies saved
by this program in administration and related costs will be more than
enough to offset the costs.
In addition to adding a peer-learning provision, we ask that this
committee also consider adding the following language as an additional
section in the bill that would preserve funding levels: ``In no case
shall the amount of Federal funds available to a tribal government
involved in any demonstration project be reduced as a result of the
enactment of this act.'' Such a provision would ensure that the various
program funds are not lowered any further.
We would like to single out section 14 for praise, as we feel that
this provision-if implemented with the enthusiasm of the Federal
agencies, states, and tribes-will bring this cooperative model out of
its current disuse and install it as a keystone of new success. We have
been working with the National Governors Association on building state-
tribal relations for the past several years, and we believe that this
will allow the states to invest in the wellness of tribal economies,
which will in turn strengthen state economies, and will build state-
tribal relationships.
Overall, we support the passage of the bill, and we are available
to work with the committee to insert and implement these suggestions
and the legislation in whole. We commend the committee for its
commitment to Indian country, and appreciate its focus of helpful
legislation that, coupled with the exercise of our sovereign rights,
will allow our tribes to best serve their people for generations to
come. Thank you for your invitation to testify, and I welcome any
questions you may have.
______
Prepared Statement of Ivan Makil, President, Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community
Chairman Inouye, Vice Chairman Campbell, members of the committee,
fellow tribal leaders, and distinguished guests, I am Ivan Makil,
president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near
Phoenix, AZ. Our community of some 7,800 members, predates Arizona as a
State. Yet, in the last 50 years, urban growth has come to us.
Today, we are surrounded by metropolitan Phoenix and border Tempe,
Scottsdale, Mesa, and Fountain hills. A contemporary but still
traditional Indian community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community is concerned about our physical, social, economic, and
spiritual development. Like other tribal communities in this country,
we are very aware that future generations of our people will live with
the results of the decisions we make today. It is critical, therefore,
that we make the very best decisions that we can.
We are fortunate, because, as we plan for the world that the next
Seven Generations will inherit, our community enjoys an important
advantage. That advantage enables us to make better decisions. We are
one of 260 tribes in this country that has self-governance.
Our road to self-governance began at the same time that President
Richard Nixon launched self-determination in 1970. That action, as you
know, led to the Indian Self Determination & Education Act of 1975. We
entered our first contract in 1970 for our Police Department. This act
set us on track for self-determination and self-governance. Since that
initial contract, we have grown to be an active self-governing tribe.
Today, we have more than three decades experience with this system.
I would like to take a few moments to talk to you about our experience
and why we believe that the principles contained in S. 343, which
authorizes a demonstration project for expanded self-governance, is
such a necessary and positive step for tribes. As introduced by Senator
Campbell, it establishes a demonstration project that authorizes the
integration and coordination of Federal funding dedicated to the
community, business, and economic development of Native American
communities.
It is significant that this approach is both systematic and
holistic. Systematic is critical for functionality and efficiency.
Holistic, however, is equally important, as our culture teaches us to
view the world as an integrated place. This bill is systematic as it
will create a block grant fund from revenues available in 15 different
Federal agencies, agencies that do not have as their normal priority
dealing with Native American tribes. It is holistic in that by
combining diverse Federal agency dollars, it encourages tribes to take
the wider, rather than narrow, view.
Realistically, it would allow tribes to pool available Federal
funds to meet the needs of their people in more effective ways. It
would also put new resources into the hands of tribal leaders who can
pool these dollars and use them more effectively to create
opportunities and solve problems for their people.
Over the past 30 years, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian has
done just that.
In the 1980's, we were the first tribe to develop a major shopping
center on our land in Arizona. To accomplish this, we put together more
than 300 different landowners with a developer and created the
Pavilions Shopping Center. We could not have done this without the
opportunities available under the Indian Self-Determination and
Educational Assistance Act. Wherever we have had an ability to
integrate the process, we have done so and improved the process.
Integration has enabled us to create more positive results.
For example, the image you see compares our unique lease process to
full-service tribes. The yellow highlighted areas show the steps that
Salt River takes when securing leases such as for the Pavilions.
Compare this process to the steps, marked in green that a non-self-
governance tribe must go through. Even a quick glance shows that Salt
River has taken over the functions in land development process
previously handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Moreover, we do
this process more efficiently and effectively and in economic
development, time is money.
As we have taken over management of our own resources, we
established a realty data base and a compatible geographic information
system. As a result, we can track ownership for every fractionated
piece of land owned by heirs.
We can also show them exactly where their land is. And most
importantly, we can--and do--issue lease payment checks to our members.
Now, more than a decade after developing the Pavilions Shopping
Center, the community council has embarked upon a sophisticated
strategic planning process to help us determine our future. As part of
this lengthy process, we are gathering information that is enabling us
to identify our critical areas of interest. As the decisionmakers and
managers for our community, our commitment to strategic planning is
helping us design our future.
To make sure that this future is healthy--physically, socially,
economically and spiritually--we are setting priorities today that will
guide our tomorrow. Because these priorities are consistent with our
overall goal, we can be assured that everyone--the community as a whole
and each individual member--will be best-served.
From our experience, I have no doubt that each Federal program was
an excellent idea when it was created. Problems began as each developed
with its own set of blinders. Because each program grew as its own
entity--without any way to leverage other like-minded programs or even
an acknowledgment of duplication--Federal programs designed to help
Indian people have often created new problems for us.
The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has created its own
destiny. We saw opportunities and made things happen for ourselves.
Over the years, our community has developed sophisticated expertise.
But, not all tribes have this kind of knowledge close at hand.
I urge you, as you design this demonstration program, to
incorporate flexibility and time enough so this project can prove
itself. Recognize that because not all tribes have local expertise,
some will need to look outside their own membership for technical
support and staffing. Given enough time and an assurance of
flexibility, our tribes can grow their own economies and nurture the
kinds of expertise they need to succeed.
I urge you to fully support S. 343, which requires 15 Federal
agencies to take an historic step to work together with tribes that
wish to be part of this demonstration project. It is critical, however,
that any tribe that joins this project be required to demonstrate how
they are planning to use these revenues. Tribes must create a plan that
serves their entire community.
I know this bill may need to be amended to address certain concerns
as it goes through the process. My staff stands ready to assist the
Committee in making this the best possible legislation for Indian
country.
The Federal Government needs the ability to have a systemic and
holistic approach to deal with tribes. Tribes need you as a partner. If
you are going to take on this effort, I urge you to do it right. Make
the demonstration real and make it multi-year so all of us have time
enough to achieve results. I also urge you to established priority
funding for this effort so that it has every chance for success.
Both the integration of the 15 agencies and the holistic planning
exercise are essential; the process cannot work unless both are in
place. By supporting this systematic and holistic approach to planning
and funding, S. 343 can become a valuable tool to help tribes design
and develop their own destiny. I urge you to commit to this thoughtful
and far-reaching bill.
Mr. Chairman, thanks again for the opportunity to testify in
support of S. 343. I would be happy to remain here to answer any
questions you or the committee members may have.
______
Prepared Statement of Katherine A. Spilde, Ph.D., Senior Research
Associate, Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development,
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman and members of the
committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. My name
is Katherine Spilde. I am a Senior Research Associate at the Harvard
Project on American Indian Economic Development, in the Kennedy School
of Government, Harvard University. The primary research objective of
the Harvard Project is to understand the conditions under which
sustained, self-determined social and economic development is achieved
among American Indian nations.
I am here today to speak in support of the Indian Tribal
Development Consolidated Funding Act of 2001 (S. 343), introduced by
Senator Campbell and cosponsored by Senators Inouye and Johnson. The
purpose of S. 343 is to establish a demonstration project that would
authorize the integration and coordination of Federal funding dedicated
to the community, business and economic development of American Indian
communities. I will be testifying, from my position as a researcher for
the Harvard Project, which has produced numerous research studies
regarding institutional and economic development in Indian country. My
testimony today relies upon the work we have done at the Harvard
Project, applied here to analyze and recommend ways to facilitate
successful implementation of the goals and purposes of this
legislation.
By way of background, the research evidence is clear on the overall
direction of productive Federal-tribal relations: Self-determination is
the only Federal policy in a century that has created conditions
wherein American Indian tribal governments have been able to begin to
reverse the legacy of poverty and economic suppression to which they
have historically been subjected. For many Indian nations, but not all,
economic development activities are flourishing, often for the first
time in a century. Most importantly, improvement in economic conditions
in Indian country has been accompanied by improved social conditions.
Where we see this progress, it is invariably the case that tribes are
building their own capacities to govern, manage, and implement economic
development strategies that fit their ends and values.
Consistent with self-determination policies and a government-to-
government relationship between Federal agencies and tribal
governments, this legislation appropriately encourages and promotes
coordination between Federal agencies and American Indian communities.
S. 343 builds upon the principles of the Indian Employment, Training
and Related Services Act, also known as the ``477 program.'' As you
know, the 477 program is considered one of the most successful economic
development programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as
it authorizes tribal governments to consolidate job training funding
from different agencies into one efficient program that meets the
specific needs of the community. As with the 477 program, S. 343
encourages the integration of funding across the Federal agencies for
the benefit of tribal governments and their programs.
The research of the Harvard Project supports the partnering between
Federal agencies and tribal government with the purpose of a
coordinated tribal economic development strategy. Consistent with the
self-determination policy, S. 343 would allow tribal governments to
determine what their economic development priorities were and how best
to meet these needs. S. 343 is consistent with the findings of the
research undertaken by the Harvard Project, and the successes of tribal
self-governance illustrates that when tribes themselves have the
opportunity for self-rule there are much better chances for economic
stability and social health.
Successful implementation of S. 343 has great potential; however
tribes face certain practical hurdles that may limit effectiveness of
this legislation. Recently, a GAO report\1\ was published in December
2001 and it echoed what the Harvard Project's research has found with
regard to the challenges that face tribes in securing financing,
especially from Federal funding sources. The GAO report found that many
tribes do not have the human capital or the expertise needed to handle
the administrative and paperwork requirements of Federal economic
development programs. Consequently, tribes may avoid using a program
where the program's requirements seem onerous, or tribes may spend a
large amount of the Federal funds they have on those requirements,
leaving less for the actual implementation of the program.\2\ In
addition to onerous requirements, the GAO reported that many tribes are
discouraged from seeking funds from particular (unnamed) Federal
agencies because they have never been successful in the past.\3\ It is
important that tribes are not set up to fail under S. 343. Tribal
capacity to administer a comprehensive economic development strategy as
authorized by S. 343 must be present in order for a tribe to
successfully carry out S. 343.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ ``Economic Development: Federal Assistance Programs for
American Indians and Alaska Natives.'' General Accounting Office.
December, 2001.
\2\ Ibid. 13.
\3\ Ibid. 14.
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Other recommendations necessary for successful implementation of S.
343 are as follows:
\\\\\\Federal agencies need incentives to work with tribal
governments.
\\\\\\Federal agencies need clear mandates with regard to
implementing this legislation, as most agencies lack the
expertise necessary to work with tribes on interagency
projects.
\\\\\\The legislation should balance devolution of Federal
responsibility with a continued commitment to the Federal trust
responsibility.
\\\\\\Currently, the only selection criteria required is
demonstration of fiscal responsibility, which overlooks
research on capable institutions as a primary indicator of long
term economic development stability.
In conclusion, successful implementation of S. 343 has great
potential to strengthen tribal self-determination and re-introduce
viable and sustain economies in certain tribal communities. S. 343
would maximize tribal participation in Federal programs to foster
community, economic and business development for disadvantaged Indian
communities. Our research supports the concepts contained in S. 343,
although certain suggestions outlined in my testimony are meant to
ensure successful implementation of S. 343. The very purpose of this
legislation-to facilitate and maximize tribes' access to Federal
funding for economic and community development--is integral to the
economic viability of disadvantaged Indian communities.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman for the opportunity to provide testimony
before the Committee today. If there are any questions, I will be happy
to answer them.
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